How To Gain Weight: Diet, Tips, Supplements And Workout Routine

Problem…you’re skinny and no matter what you do you can’t gain weight. You eat (and eat, and eat) and workout but the scale doesn’t move. Women ignore you, and men bully or make fun of you.

You’re tired of having a fast metabolism, and looking pathetic in the mirror.

This guide is here to help. You will learn how to eat to (really) gain weight. Specific diet plans are included, along with a list of healthy weight gaining foods, and beneficial supplements.

Want to build muscle? No problem, and believe it or not it can be done with only 2-3 days of training per week. Forget all those magazine workout routines. Let’s teach you how to walk first, and build an impressive chest and arms.

No more talk, let’s move on to details. Here we go…

How To Gain Weight

Step 1 – Count Your Calories

The first step in getting on track and gaining weight is to assess how much food you are REALLY eating each day. For one week I want you to count two things:

Calories. Count every calorie you eat. Get familiar with nutritional labels, serving sizes and calorie contents for all the foods you’re eating. Don’t forget to include calories from everything you drink.

Program. Count every gram of protein you eat. Protein is vital for muscle building and muscle recovery. If you exercise at all, or are trying to build muscle, you must be eating enough daily protein.

If you’re having problems, visit Calorie King. The Calorie King website can help you find calorie and protein for just about everything.

Tally up your calories and protein from the last 7 days and calculate an average.

Step 2 – Assess Your Daily Calorie Intake

Now that you know exactly how many calories you are eating per day, let’s see how you stack up:

3500+ Calories Per Day – Well done! You are on the right track. If you’re eating this much per day and not gaining weight you have a crazy fast metabolism. Please refer to the 4500 calorie per day diet plan listen below.

3000-3499 Calories Per Day – Not quite there yet. You’re only a few extra calories per day away from gaining quality weight. Please refer to the 4000 calorie per day diet plan listen below.

2500-2999 Calories Per Day – If you were in your mid to late 30’s and trying to maintain your weight, this would be the right amount of calories to eat. But you’re not! You need to eat more food. Please refer to the 3500 calorie per day diet plan listen below.

2000-2499 Calories Per Day – Most bodybuilders and Hollywood celebrities CUT weight at this calorie intake level. While you may be maintaining weight eating this amount, you still need to eat a lot more food. Please refer to the 3000 calorie per day diet plan listen below.

Under 2000 Calories Per Day – This is way too little food. There is no other way to slice it. Please refer to the 3000 calorie per day diet plan listen below.

Step 3 – Assess Your Daily Protein Intake

As stated earlier, protein is vital for muscle building, recovery and muscle repair. Even if you’re not looking to build a lot of extra muscle, you still need to eat more protein simply because you are trying to gain weight. Let’s see how you stack up. The amount of protein that is recommended is based upon your required calorie intake:

4500 Calorie Diet Plan – 250 grams of protein per day.

4000 Calorie Diet Plan – 225 grams of protein per day.

3500 Calorie Diet Plan – 200 grams of protein per day.

3000 Calorie Diet Plan – 175 grams of protein per day.

Understand that these levels are not carved in stone numbers. They are guidelines, and you do not need to hit them on the head to gain weight. You do want to be in these general ball parks though.

Sample Diet Plans

Obviously, you aren’t going to eat the same foods day in and day out. The following diet plans exist to give you some basic guidelines, expectations and calorie levels.

Results, and Making Calorie Adjustments

The included diet plans are merely examples. Feel free to play around with these templates, and to insert some of your favorite foods.

If after 2 weeks the scale hasn’t moved at all, bump your daily calorie intake by 300. If you are very skinny you should aim to add 3-4 pounds of bodyweight per month. This will help you put on 36 to 48 pounds in the coming year, which combined with weight lifting, will make your physique look much better.

If you are only slightly underweight, aim for about a 2 pound gain each month for the first year.

There should be no need to eat this aggressively longer than 12 months. Re-assess your physique at that time, and adjust your calorie intake accordingly.

Supplements to Help You Gain Weight

The following supplements are not magic pills or powders, but they can assist you will your weight gaining efforts.

Multivitamin. Take a daily multivitamin, preferably one manufactured by a reputable muscle building supplement manufacturer. A multivitamin will help fill in the gaps with your nutrition.

Fish Oil. Fish oil is great for overall health, and works to regulate cholesterol and blood pressure levels, improve joint health, brain function, and much more.

IsoFuel whey protein powder, or a similar popular brand. Whey protein powder is a convenient way to consume protein, as well as being highly bioavailable, meaning that a high percentage of the protein is utilized.

Casein protein powder. Casein protein powder is slow digesting, and perfect to take right before bed. It will allow your body access to protein for recovery for a longer period of time as you sleep.

Weight gainer. If you have a hard time eating enough solid food, a quality weight gainer can help you consume an immense amount of calories in shake form.

Creatine. Creatine is one of the most studied and proven supplements on the planet. It can help increase workout energy and performance, and assist you with pushing for more reps and weight. This can potentially improve the rate at which you build muscle.

Pre-workout formulas. Lacking the energy to workout? A pre-workout formula can provide you with the extra energy and focus you need to experience a quality work.

Do you need all of these supplements to gain weight? Certainly not. Can they help? Yes, each of these supplement has value depending on your specific needs.

Muscle Building Workout Routine

The following workout routine will help you build muscle mass. The good news is that you do not need to lift weights 5-6 days a week to see great progress.

You will be working out 3 days per week on non-consecutive days of the week:

Day 1 – Workout One

Day2 – Off Day

Day 3 – Workout Two

Day 4 – Off Day

Day 5 – Workout Three

Day 6 – Off Day

Day 7 – Off Day

Workout One

Squats – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Bench Press – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Dumbbell Rows – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Barbell Curls – 3 sets x 10-12 reps

Sit Ups – 3 Sets x 10-25 reps

Calf Raises – 3 sets x 10-20 reps

Workout Two

Deadlifts – 3 sets of 5 reps

Seated Overhead Barbell Press – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Pull Ups – 3 sets x Max reps

Dips – 3 sets x Max reps

Barbell Shrugs – 3 sets x 10-12 reps

Dumbbell Side Bends – 3 sets x 10-15 reps

Workout Three

Squats – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Barbell Rows – 3 sets x 8-10 reps

Dumbbell Curls – 3 sets x 10-12 reps

Sit Ups – 3 Sets x 10-25 reps

Calf Raises – 3 sets x 10-20 reps

Perform the exercises in the order lifted. Start with a moderately light weight and make sure your form is good.

Use the same weight for all sets of a given exercise. When you are able to perform all the reps for each set, add 5 pounds of weight for that exercise the following week. Do not train to failure. It is not necessary. Stop a set when your exercise form starts to slip, or when you feel like you might fail on the next rep.

Remember that muscle building is a long term process. There are no shortcuts. You must take time and improve your overall strength in order to build muscle mass. While absolute strength is not the goal, your body will not build a substantial amount of extra muscle unless you are consistently pushing for more weight on each exercise.

It’s ok to take a week away from lifting every 8-12 weeks to allow your body to recover. You won’t lose gains.

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About Us

Steve Shaw is the founder of Muscle and Brawn, an experienced powerlifter with over 31 years experience pumping iron. During competition he’s recorded a 602.5lb squat, 672.5lb deadlift and a 382.5lb bench press. His mission with Muscle and Brawn is to share tips that have worked for him over the years – helping readers to build more muscle and get stronger.